JP4523835B2 - Watch having a date mechanism with two date rings superimposed - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a large date mechanism that includes two superimposed upper and lower date rings, one of which is a continuous 15 marks out of 31 positions. And the other relates to a mechanism having the other 16 marks.

  Periodic counting devices with openings and periodic display devices for use in calendar clocks for displaying dates are already known. Typically, an analog date display is conventionally made using a date ring with 31 sectors consisting of 1 to 31 marks. However, such a device has the disadvantage that it provides only one field for each sector and its dimensions correspond to 1/31 of the circumference of the ring. Especially in small format watches, the dimensions of the field are insufficient to allow a date display that can be easily read. Therefore, it has been felt that there is a need for a device that can display a “big date” in a field that is significantly larger than 1/31 of the circumference.

  The first solution to this problem was provided by Swiss patent application CH 660 941 in the name of Brandi, whose purpose is a periodic counting device with an opening and a periodic display device for a calendar clock. Providing a device that allows a date display to have a large format that is at least about 1/31 of the circumference, while being purely mechanical and simple in construction Was.

  For this reason, the date mechanism represented by the Brandi patent mainly comprises an upper date ring consisting of 16 sectors superimposed on a lower ring comprising 17 sectors. The upper ring is provided with marks “17” to “31” in its 15 sectors, and an opening is provided in the last sector. The lower ring is in its 16 sectors and includes marks “1” through “16”, and the last sector has no marks. The inner circumference of the two rings includes a tooth, a location for a toothless upper ring, and a location for a toothless lower ring. A date finger that rotates once every 24 hours as usual drives the date ring by acting on the teeth in a conventional manner. The position of the drive finger with respect to the teeth of the ring is such that when the ring has its free position (open sector on the upper ring, unmarked sector on the lower ring) at the watch display location, Located facing no position.

The Brandi patent provides a format for displaying dates that is substantially twice as large as the format of a conventional date mechanism. This date mechanism is driven by a drive finger, which rotates once every 24 hours and drives the date ring by acting on its teeth. However, there is no corrective device to quickly change the display provided by the date mechanism. Furthermore, it presents problems with the positioning of the date ring. In fact, according to the Brandi patent, two jumper effect stop devices act on the teeth of the upper ring and the teeth of the lower ring, respectively. However, if one place to provide each tooth for each said ring has no teeth, these jumpers must have a double tip and press between three consecutive tooth points. . As a result, the dimensions of these jumpers must be large and therefore bulky. Furthermore, the mechanical characteristics of the holding force exerted by the jumper on the two date rings depend on whether the toothless position is in the first, second or third position with respect to the jumper. Therefore, a compromise must be found that ensures that the jumper positions the ring in a satisfactory manner, regardless of where the teeth are missing. Such jumpers are therefore difficult to obtain.
Swiss patent application number CH 660 941

  It is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks as well as other drawbacks by providing a date mechanism that can be in a large format for date display, which mechanism includes two superimposed each An upper date ring and a lower date ring, one of which has 15 consecutive marks out of a loop of 31 positions and the other has a ring with the other 16 marks, And a quick correction device that quickly changes the display provided by the mechanism.

  It is another object of the present invention to provide a date mechanism of the type described above that includes a jumper effect stop device that properly positions the two rings.

  Accordingly, the present invention includes a date mechanism for a watch, such as a watch, which includes two superimposed upper and lower date rings each having a surface divided into a plurality of sectors and 16 upper rings. Including 15 sectors, each of which carries 15 consecutive marks at 31 positions in a circle, the 16th of which is an additional sector with an open or transparent opening, The ring contains 17 sectors, 16 of which each carry the other 16 marks in 31 rounds, the 17th being an additional sector, each of these rings In cooperation with the drive means, the mark on the lower ring continuously emerges from the opening into the display zone, so that the upper ring remains stationary and The lower ring is stationary, the upper ring mark appears continuously in the display zone, and the upper ring covers the lower ring mark, each ring having two surrounding internal teeth Each of its inner teeth is composed of a series of regularly spaced teeth, and these surrounding inner teeth extend along two upper and lower rows, respectively, The teeth in the row and the lower row are overlapped, the teeth in the upper and lower rows of the lower ring are staggered, and there is no tooth in one place on each of the inner teeth of the upper ring and the lower ring And further comprising a correction device for changing the indication provided by the date mechanism, the position of the drive means relative to the upper and lower inner teeth of the upper and lower rings respectively. , Correction mechanism, upper ring and lower ring When the upper ring has its additional sector at the location of the display zone, the driving means and the correction mechanism are respectively located in the upper row of the upper ring. When the teeth and the inner teeth of the lower row are pointed away from the teeth, and the lower ring has its additional sector at the location of the display zone, the driving means and the correction device are respectively in the lower ring The present invention relates to a mechanism characterized by being directed to a place where the inner teeth of the lower row and the inner teeth of the upper row are free of teeth.

  With these features, the present invention provides two superimposed date rings and a quick correction device that quickly changes the information provided by the date mechanism. When one of the rings has its additional sector in the display zone, the correction device is facing away from the teeth of the inner teeth of the ring. As a result, the correction device can only act on the other ring, thus preventing the risk of disturbing the date mechanism.

  According to another feature of the invention, the correction device includes a sliding pinion. The sliding pinion only meshes with the internal teeth of the date ring when started by the user with the correction stem.

  According to another feature of the invention, the date mechanism includes jumper effect stop means, the lower date ring includes additional internal teeth, which are located below the lower internal teeth of the ring, the teeth being , And arranged so as to coincide with the teeth of the lower internal teeth. With these features, the jumper effect stop device is simple to manufacture and allows the two date rings to be properly positioned. In fact, in the prior art, due to the fact that there is no tooth in one place of each internal tooth of each date ring, the jumper has a double tip and must be pressed between three consecutive tooth tips. Unlike that, the jumper according to the present invention is continuously housed between two consecutive teeth on one or the other of the inner teeth of a given ring, so that the passage without teeth Among other things, it stays engaged with the corresponding date ring. Thus, the jumper according to the present invention terminates conventionally with two inclined surfaces that press directly between the tips of two consecutive teeth to keep the date ring in the desired position. Thus, these jumpers are of conventional design and exert a constant strength holding force on the date ring regardless of the position of the ring.

  Other features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of an embodiment of a date mechanism according to the present invention, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, but this example is purely illustrative and limiting This is an example that does not.

  The present invention is a date mechanism for a watch, on the one hand brought about by a drive wheel which rotates once every 24 hours and is driven by acting a date ring on their teeth, and on the other hand a date mechanism. It develops from a general inventive concept that consists of providing a mechanism that includes a correction device that quickly changes the display. To achieve this result, each date ring includes two inner peripheral internal teeth, one of which cooperates with the drive wheel and the other cooperates with the correction device. Furthermore, there is no tooth in one place of each of the internal teeth, and it is a rest position of the corresponding ring. More particularly, when the ring has its free position (opening on the upper ring and unmarked sector on the lower ring) at the display location of the watch, the drive wheel and the correction device will be Not facing the place. As a result, the ring is in its rest position and the correction device can only operate on the other ring, thus preventing the risk of disturbing the date mechanism. Furthermore, it is a general object of the present invention to provide a date mechanism of the type described above, wherein the jumper effect stop device is simple to manufacture and includes two small jumpers that ensure proper positioning of the date ring. There is also to do. The fact that this result is achieved is that, according to the prior art, the fact that there is no tooth in one location of each internal tooth of each date ring, the jumper has three consecutive teeth of each internal tooth of each ring. In contrast, the position of the jumper had to be ensured during passage without teeth, but according to the present invention, each of the two date rings has two internal teeth. Including, where the teeth are superimposed and the toothless location is not the same for both internal teeth, thereby continuously accommodating between two consecutive teeth on one or the other of the internal teeth of a given ring In that way, it will remain engaged with the date ring even during passage without teeth.

  FIG. 1 is a top view of a timepiece movement including a date mechanism according to the present invention. The timepiece device shown here in its entirety by the reference numeral 1 is attached to the plate 2. The date mechanism according to the present invention mainly includes a lower date ring 6 and an upper date ring 4 superimposed thereon. The upper ring 4 includes 16 sectors, and the lower ring 6 includes 17 sectors. As can be seen by examining FIG. 1 and better understood by examining FIGS. 4 and 5, the upper ring 4 has its “15” to “31” marks in its 15 sectors, and the last sector Is provided with an open or transparent opening 8. The lower ring 6 includes marks “1” to “16” in its 16 sectors, and there is no mark in the last sector.

  The inner circumference of the upper date ring 4 includes internal teeth formed from a series of regularly spaced teeth. For purposes of describing the present invention and for better understanding of the present invention, this one internal tooth is formed of two stages, respectively, an upper internal tooth and a lower internal tooth, respectively 10 and 12 here. The teeth shown are superimposed, and it is assumed that there is no tooth at one location 14 of the upper inner tooth and one location 16 of the lower inner tooth (see FIG. 4).

  Similarly, the inner periphery of the lower date ring 6 includes two peripheral internal teeth, each consisting of a series of regularly spaced teeth, the peripheral internal teeth being in two stages, each in the upper row and Extending along the lower row, the upper row of teeth 18 are staggered with respect to the lower row of teeth 20 (FIG. 5). For the same reason as described above, it is assumed that the inner teeth in the lower row are formed of two steps of lower inner teeth and additional inner teeth, and these teeth shown here at 20 and 22 are superimposed. There is no tooth in one location 24 of the upper internal tooth and one location 26 of the lower internal tooth.

  As can be seen with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, the date mechanism of the present invention includes a date drive wheel 28 that rotates once every 24 hours, the upper inner teeth of the upper ring 4, and the lower ring 6. Acting on the teeth 10 and 20 of the lower internal teeth drives the date rings 4, 6. The positions of the drive teeth 28 of the upper ring 4 and the lower ring 6 with respect to the respective upper inner teeth and lower inner teeth are such that one of these rings is in its free position (the upper ring 4 has the opening 8 and the lower ring). When the ring 6 sector reaches the display location 30 of the watch movement 1 (the opening of the dial will occupy the position of the number “16”, which is to be removed) The drive wheel 28 is directed to the upper inner teeth of the upper ring 4 or the teeth of the lower inner teeth of the lower ring 6 at 14 and 26, respectively.

  The date mechanism according to the present invention also includes a correction device that quickly changes the display provided by the date mechanism. According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the correction device includes a sliding pinion 32. This sliding small gear 32 is actuated by the user with a correction stem 33 and acts on the teeth 12, 18 of the lower inner teeth of the upper ring 4 and the upper inner teeth of the lower ring 6, The date rings 4 and 6 are driven. The position of the sliding small gear 32 with respect to the lower inner teeth and the upper inner teeth of the upper ring 4 and the lower ring 6, respectively, is such that when one of the rings has its free position at the display location 30 of the watch movement. 32 face 16 or 24, respectively, where there are no teeth on the lower internal teeth of the upper ring 4 or the upper internal teeth of the lower ring 6.

  The jumper effect stop device 34 includes two jumpers 36 and 38, which are upper and lower internal teeth 10 and 12 of the upper ring 4, and lower and additional internal teeth of the lower ring 6, respectively. Cooperating with the teeth 20,22. In the prior art, due to the fact that there is no tooth in one place on each internal tooth of each date ring, the jumper cooperates with three consecutive teeth on each ring, so that the ring can also be Unlike that, the jumpers 36, 38 according to the present invention constantly continually between two consecutive teeth on one or the other of the inner teeth of a given ring. So that it remains engaged with the appropriate date ring even during passage without teeth.

  The date rings 4, 6 each have a limit stop, 40, 42, respectively, on their outer periphery. Figures 4 and 5 illustrate this arrangement in detail. The limit stop 40 extends perpendicular to the plane of the upper date ring 4, and the limit stop 42 extends in the outer radial direction of the outer periphery of the lower date ring 6.

  In the state shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the upper date ring 4 has its opening 8 at the display location 30 and at the same time its toothless portions 14 and 16 are directed to the drive wheel 28 and the sliding small gear 32, respectively. . Obviously, the toothless places 14 and 16 determine the rest position of the upper ring 4, where neither the drive wheel 28 nor the sliding pinion 32 can act on the upper date ring 4. Therefore, the drive gear 28 drives only the lower ring 6, and the lower ring 6 continuously moves the marks “11”, “12”,. . . It is brought to the state of “15” and finally “16”, and the position shown here is reached. At the moment when the mark “16” appears, the limit stop portion 42 contacts the limit stop portion 40. At this moment, during the forward travel transmitted by the drive wheel 28 to the lower ring 6, the upper ring 4 is also driven, so that the opening 8 disappears from the display location 30 and gives way to the mark “17” on the upper ring 4. At this moment, it is the lower ring 6 that has a toothless area facing the drive wheel 28 and the sliding small gear 32 respectively. Similarly for the upper ring 4, the non-toothed portions 24, 26 of the lower ring 6 determine the rest position of the ring 6, where both the drive wheel 28 and the sliding small gear 32 act on the lower ring 6. Can not do it. In this way, for each rotation of the drive wheel 28, only the upper ring 4 moves forward one step, and the marks “17”, “18”,. . . “30” and “31” appear. When the mark “31” is displayed, the state between the two limit stops 40 and 42 is the reverse of what has been described above, ie the limit stop 40 of the date ring 4 is in the lower date ring 6. The date ring 6 is advanced while the date ring 4 is moving forward, so that the mark “1” appears at the display location 30 under the opening 8. While the upper ring 4 is advanced and the lower ring 6 rests, it is the unmarked sector of the lower ring 6 that faces the display location 30, but this has no effect, This is because, in this case, the opening 8 does not come to the display location 30 at all, and therefore does not make the lower ring 6 visible. The 16 marks on the lower ring 6 are then marched continuously, returning to the state shown in FIGS. This cycle then starts again.

  Needless to say, the relative movement of the two upper date rings 4 and the lower date ring 6 may be driven not by the drive wheel 28 but by the sliding pinion 32 that is started by the user from the correction stem 33, It will be the same. In that case, the two rings 4, 6 rotate more quickly and easily, allowing the user to quickly correct the display provided by the date mechanism. As will be recalled, the position of the sliding small gear 32 is such that when the upper ring 4 has its free position at the display location 30, the sliding small gear 32 faces away from the lower internal teeth 16 of the upper ring 4. Also, when the lower ring 6 has its free position at the display location 30, the sliding small gear 32 comes to the opposite side of the lower ring 6 where the upper internal teeth are absent. As will also be recalled, the sliding pinion 32 only meshes with the internal teeth of the date ring when it is started with the correction stem 33 by the user. During normal operation of the date mechanism, the sliding pinion 32 occupies a position away from the date rings 4, 6. Finally, as will be appreciated, the drive wheel 28 drives the date rings 4, 6 through some resilient finger so that one of the rings 4 or 6 is driven by the sliding pinion 32. Sometimes the finger disappears from the front of the tooth passing through it and enters the cavity formed by the tooth and its subsequent teeth.

  FIG. 7 is an exploded view of the timepiece movement 1 provided with the date mechanism according to the present invention. A plate 2 included in the movement 1 supports and guides two lower date rings 6 and an upper date ring 4 when rotating. An hour hand wheel shaft 44 stands in the center of the plate 2 in a conventional manner, and an hour hand wheel 46 is engaged thereon. The stop device 34 carried by the bridge 48 is provided with its two jumpers 36, 38, each acting on the upper date ring 4 and the lower date ring 6. The drive wheel 28 includes a wheel 50 to be driven, and is driven by the hour hand wheel 46 through a reduction wheel (not shown) to make one complete rotation every 24 hours. The two fingers 52, 54 are fixed on the wheel 50 by welding, for example. These two fingers 52 and 54 act on the upper inner teeth of the upper ring 4 and the lower inner teeth of the lower ring 6 to drive the upper date ring 4 and the lower date ring 6 respectively. . If the upper inner teeth 14 of the upper ring 4 are located facing the drive wheel 28, the drive wheel 28 does not affect the upper ring 4, and the The side date ring 6 is driven one stage at a time. On the other hand, when the portion 26 where the lower inner teeth of the lower date ring 6 do not have teeth is located facing the drive wheel 28, the finger 54 cannot engage with the teeth 20 of the lower ring 6, and Only ring 4 moves forward one step per day.

  The drive wheel 28 is freely attached to the shaft 56 of the bridge 48. Similarly, the sliding small gear 32 is attached to the bridge 48 via a shaft 58. The sliding small gear 32 is connected to the correction stem 33 by a chain including intermediate wheels 60, 62 and a small gear 64. Finally, the date mechanism according to the invention is held axially on the plate 2 by a holding plate 66 fixed using screws 68.

  FIG. 8 is an enlarged conceptual diagram of the internal teeth of the upper date ring 4 and the lower date ring 6. As can be seen by examining this figure, the upper date ring 4 has the numbers 1, 2,. . . The lower date ring 6 includes 16 teeth identified by 15, 16. . . 17 teeth identified by 16, 17 are included. The upper ring 4 thus comprises 16 compartments and the lower ring comprises 17 compartments.

  The upper date ring 4 includes two internal teeth, each of which is shown as 10 and 12, superimposed, one location 14 for the upper internal teeth, each identified by a solid circle, and the lower internal teeth One location 16 has no teeth.

  The upper date ring 6 also includes two internal teeth, each of which is shown as 18 and 20 staggered, one location 24 for the upper internal teeth, each identified by a solid circle, and the lower internal teeth There is no tooth at one location 26 of the tooth. The lower date ring 6 also includes additional internal teeth, whose teeth 22 coincide with the teeth 20 of the lower internal teeth.

  The position of the drive wheel 28 facing the internal teeth of the upper date ring 4 and the lower date ring 6 and the position of the sliding small gear 32 are identified by straight segments AA and BB, respectively. Finally, two jumpers 36, 38 are represented by two rectangles, which carry the same reference numbers. As can be seen by examining the drawings, the height of the two jumpers 36 and 38 depends on the thickness of the upper and lower inner teeth of the upper date ring 4 and the lower date ring 6 with which the jumpers cooperate. It is equal to the thickness of the lower internal teeth and the additional internal teeth.

  In the state shown in FIG. 8, the upper date ring 4 has two teethless portions 14 and 16 facing the drive wheel 28 and the sliding small gear 32, respectively. This position corresponds to the situation in which the upper ring 4 has its opening 8 at the movement display location 30 and represents the number “16” carried by the lower ring 6. At the moment when the mark “16” appears, the limit stop 42 of the lower ring 6 contacts the limit stop 40 of the upper ring 4. Thus, when the lower ring 6 is advanced by the drive wheel 28, the upper ring 4 is also driven. Then, it is the lower ring 6 that faces the toothless parts 24 and 26, respectively, the drive wheel 28 and the sliding small gear 32, and the toothless parts 14 and 16 of the upper ring 4 advance one step further. Complete.

  As already mentioned above, the height of the two jumpers 36, 38 is substantially equal to the thickness of the teeth 10, 12, 20 and 22, so that during the passage without teeth, the jumpers It remains engaged between the two directly continuous teeth of the inner teeth of the disk and the lower disk, ensuring proper positioning of the disk.

  Needless to say, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various simple modifications and variations can be envisaged by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the present invention. In particular, it is possible that the upper date ring includes 17 sectors and the lower date ring has only 16 sectors.

It is a top view of the case of the timepiece including the date mechanism according to the present invention. It is the perspective view seen from the 1st angle of the case of the timepiece of FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the 2nd angle of the case of the timepiece of FIG. It is a perspective view of an upper date ring. It is a perspective view of a lower date ring. FIG. 6 is a view similar to the view of FIGS. 4 and 5 with date rings superimposed. It is an exploded view of a date mechanism. It is an expansion conceptual diagram of the surrounding internal tooth of an upper date ring and a lower date ring.

Explanation of symbols

  1 Clock movement, 2 plates, 4, 6 Upper and lower date rings, 8 Opening, 10, 12 Upper date ring upper and lower teeth, 14, 16 Upper date ring upper and lower teeth without teeth, 18, 20 Lower Upper date row of the side date ring, 22 Additional teeth of the lower date ring, 24, 26 No teeth of the upper and lower rows of the lower date ring, 28 Drive wheel, 30 Display location, 32 Sliding small gear , 33 Correction stem, 34 Jumper effect stop device, 36, 38 Jumper, 40, 42 Limit stop, 44 hour hand axle, 46 hour hand wheel, 48 bridge, 50 drive wheel wheel, 52, 54 drive wheel 28 finger, 60 62 intermediate wheel, 64 small gear, 66 retaining plate, 68 screws

Claims (5)

The date mechanism for a timepiece such as a wristwatch, comprising two superimposed respective upper date rings were (4) and the lower date ring (6), the surface is divided into a plurality of sectors, the upper date ring (4 ) Contains 16 sectors, 15 of which each carry 15 consecutive marks at 31 positions, each of which has an open or transparent opening (8). a sector of the additional, the include lower date ring (6) is 17 sectors, the 16, each of which, to support other sixteen mark 31 position of one full year, the 17 th There is a sector of the additional, the upper date ring (4) and the lower date ring (6) respectively, cooperating with driving means, whereby the mark of the lower date (6) ring, the opening Continuously emerges from (8) to the display zone (30), the upper date ring (4) is to remain immobile, also the lower date ring (6) is stationary, the upper date rings mark (4) appear successively in the display zone (30), the upper date ring (4) is a mechanism which will cover the marks of the lower date ring (6), the upper date Each of the ring (4 ) and the lower date ring ( 6) includes two surrounding internal teeth, each of which consists of a series of regularly spaced teeth (10, 12; 18, 20). these surrounding the teeth, the two-stage, extending along each upper row and a lower row, the teeth of the upper row and the lower row (10, 12) are superposed in the upper date ring (4), teeth of the upper row and the lower row of the lower date ring (6) (18,2 ) Are staggered, each one place of the internal teeth of the upper date ring (4) and the lower date ring (6) (14, 16; characterized by no teeth 24, 26), Moreover, further comprising a correction device for changing the display brought by date mechanism, the drive means, the upper date ring (4) and the lower date ring (6) respectively, the upper inner teeth and lower and position relative to the inner teeth, the correction mechanism, the upper date ring (4) and the lower date ring (6), respectively, the position relative to the upper inner teeth and lower inner teeth, the upper date ring (4) is , When having the additional sector at the location of the display zone (30), the driving means and the correction device are respectively located in the absence of the teeth of the upper row of internal teeth and the teeth of the lower row of internal teeth (14, confronts 16), said lower Date Ring (6) is, when it has the added sector to the location of the display zone (30), respectively the drive means and the correction device, the internal teeth and the upper row of the lower row of the lower date ring (6) A date mechanism characterized by facing the toothless places (24, 26) of the internal teeth. Includes a correction device sliding pinion (32), when it is started by the correction system (33), the upper date ring (4) and the lower date ring (6), respectively, the lower the teeth and upper The date mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the date mechanism only meshes with an internal tooth. Includes a jumper effect stopping means (34), it is the upper inner teeth and lower inner teeth of the upper date ring (4), the lower side in the tooth of the lower date ring (6), the lower date ring (6 cooperate with the teeth of the additional internal teeth (22) positioned under the lower inner teeth), this tooth (22), and characterized in that to match the teeth (20) of the lower inner teeth The date mechanism according to claim 1 or 2. The jumper effect stop means (34) includes two jumpers (36, 38) whose heights are the upper row and lower row teeth (10, 12) and the lower inner tooth (20 And a thickness of the teeth ( 22) of the additional dentition of the lower internal teeth . Driving means comprises a wheel (28), which is one revolution in 24 hours, it two fingers (52, 54) is mounted, wherein they are respectively upper date ring (4) and the lower date rings ( 6. Date mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that 6) is driven by acting on the teeth (10, 20) of the upper and lower rows respectively .

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